Advanced Micro Devices has signed a deal to provide AMD64 processors to Founder Technology, the second large maker of PCs in China.

Under the deal, announced Thursday, AMD64-based desktop PCs would be available in China in early October. The agreement covers desktop systems initially, and would be expanded to notebooks and servers in the near future. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Expanding into countries like China is important to chip makers, since PC shipments in those nations are expected to increase faster than in mature markets like the United States. The reason is the number of potential customers without computers if far greater, experts say.

Over the next two years, emerging markets are expected to post solid double-digit growth in PC shipments, while mature markets slow to mid to single digits, according to Gartner. Worldwide shipments this year are expected to increase by 10.5 percent to 233.7 million units.